Weeks Four, Five and Six--Home Energy Expenditures Overview

Unless you live in a cave (or were raised in a barn, as moms are so fond of saying about their misbehaved children), your home is using energy. And you are probably using more of it than you need to. For the next three weeks I'm going to be focusing on new habits you can develop as they relate to home energy.

This week, Week Four, I'll provide some light bulb moments on what you can do to save energy when you've got the lights on in the house--and how you can get in the habit of using lights less. Don't worry: I won't suggest sitting in the dark, or working by flashlight. But you may be surprised to discover how little you actually need traditional lights to be on all the time.

The week after that, Week Five, we'll talk about appliances. These can be some of the most energy-inefficient items in your home. I'll give you a tutorial on Energy Star ratings and what they really mean, and help you determine how to make even energy-inefficient appliances work a little more efficiently.

Then during the last week, Week Six, I'll show you the phantom energy suckers in your house--plugged-in products that continue to suck energy (and run up your energy bill) even when they're not in use. Many of these, by the way, are your high-tech buddies like your computer and cell-phone charger. During this week of habit adjusting, I'll help you train yourself to turn these suckers off so you can lower your bills.